


Back to Back, Side by Side

by Strudol



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Tragedy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-01-28 17:17:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12611496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Strudol/pseuds/Strudol
Summary: Team RWBY is finally reunited. But with the White Fang loose in the city of Mistral things may take a turn for the worse.





	1. Reunion

RWBY: Back to Back, Side by Side

Ch 1: Reunion

Weiss

                ‘ _Finally!’_ Weiss thought, ‘ _after almost a week of walking we’re finally here!’_

                The massive gates of the city of Mistral towered over Weiss and Yang as they waited patiently for the guards to allow them entrance. Weiss mulled over the events of the past few weeks. Raven Branwen had held her captive for almost a full week before Yang showed up and the two of them hatched and executed an escape plan. It had been an incredibly long journey for the both of them, but she was finally going to see her closest friends again.

                “Come on Ice Queen!” Yang said with a friendly smirk, pulling Weiss out of her reverie “They’re waiting for us.”

                Weiss followed close behind Yang, swallowing nervously at the thought of seeing her friends again _‘What do you have to be nervous about?’_ she asked herself as she passed through the gate, _‘Is it because you’ve been thinking about Ru-’_

                “WEIIIIISSSS!!” cried an energetic voice, followed by an ecstatic scream of joy.

                She jerked her head up just in time to see a red and black streak sprinting towards her. Ruby crashed headlong into Weiss, knocking her back; she pinwheeled her arms trying to maintain her balance but was saved from falling by the tight hug the black haired girl pulled her into. 

                Ruby buried her face in Weiss’ collarbone, “I’ve missed you so much Weiss!”

                She gladly returned the younger girl’s embrace, “I’ve missed you too Ruby.” She smiled into Ruby’s shoulder, her cheeks flushing slightly. _‘Her hair smells so nice’_ Weiss thought, _‘I wish I could stay like this fo-’_

“Oh!” Ruby exclaimed noticing her sister standing off to the side, “Yang!!” She rapidly disentangled herself from the hug, leaving Weiss hugging thin air as Ruby threw herself at her sister.

                _‘Her hair? What the heck has gotten into you Schnee?’_ she thought.

                “Uh,” Another voice said over the sound of Yang giving Ruby a noogie, “You look a bit distracted.”

                “Blake! I didn’t even see you there!” the two girls greeted each other with a hug, less energetic than Ruby’s but no less friendly, “And yeah, I am pretty distracted.”

                “I’ll bet.” the Faunus said with an obvious look at Ruby who was now bouncing in circles around Yang.

                 “It’s good to see you Blake.” She said, electing to ignore the comment for now.

                “It’s good to see you too. I like the new look!”

                “And I love yours! You look good without the bow!”

                Blake’s cat ears flicked, and she self-consciously ran her fingers over them, “Yeah, I decided it’s time to stop hiding who I really am.”

                Weiss nodded, “I know the feeling.” She said, thinking back on her family.

                “Weiss!” Ruby zipped up to her again, grabbing both of her hands and jumping up and down excitedly. “You have to tell us all about where you’ve been! I haven’t seen you in almost a year!” Blake smiled and went off to greet Yang.

                “Um,” Weiss said, stalling to collect her thoughts. She was finally able to get her first good look at Ruby _‘When did she get so cute?’_ Ruby had gotten a little taller, and, no doubt from all the adventuring, had lost a lot of the baby fat on her face. Her new outfit made her legs look long and slender. _‘And her eyes,’_ she thought, _‘I never noticed how silver th-’_

                “Uh Weiss?” Ruby asked, cocking her head to the side and blushing slightly, “You ok?”

                “Uh, yes! Sorry! It’s been a long day. And it’s honestly a very long story.” Her stomach growled, it had been a few days since she had anything more than a snack on the road, “Why don’t we catch up over some food, I’m starving.”

                Ruby let go of her hands, jumping up and down and clapping, “Yes! Now you’re speaking my language! And I know just the place we can go!” she said beginning to walk down the street.

                “Let me guess,” the former heiress said with a smile, “It’s a bakery that specializes in gourmet cookies.”

                Ruby beamed at her, “You know me too well partner!” she almost danced up the street. “Cookies and my three best friends, there’s nothing that can ruin this day!”

                Suddenly, alarms started blaring throughout the city.

                Yang glared at Ruby, “You just HAD to say that didn’t you?”

                Ruby grinned sheepishly, rubbing her pointer fingers together “Heh heh, oops?” She jumped as her scroll rang loudly. She opened it and put it on speaker, “Hello? Uncle Qrow?”

                “Hey kid. Have Yang and Schnee arrived yet?”

                “Yeah,” she said glancing at Weiss, “they’re here, what the heck is going on?”

                “Good, We’re gonna need ‘em. Adam Taurus and some of his lieutenants are in the school, and what seems like half the White Fang have seemingly appeared from nowhere and are making their way towards the school. I need you four to hold the entrance chamber, keep the mob from getting in the school. Can you guys handle it?”

                Blake was already pulling out her scroll and calling the rest of RNJR.

                “Yeah! We’re on our way!”

                “Good luck kid! Shit, I gotta go, Adam’s coming for Oscar.” The line went dead.

                “Jaune says they’re headed back to the city but it’ll be at least half an hour before they’re able to help us out.” Blake reported. As they started running towards the school, high above them.

                They rapidly climbed through the city, Weiss using her glyphs to boost them onto rooftops.

                “GOD. FREAKING. DAMMIT!” Yang yelled, “This would happen, just as we all get back together.”

                “Hey!” Ruby said cheerfully, turning to look at her team, “There’s no one else I’d rather have fighting b-by my side.” He voice faltered a little bit as her eyes met Weiss’, causing them both to blush a little.

                “Heh,” Yang said smirking, “Damn straight. Team RWBY is back together!”

                Despite all the tension in the air, Weiss couldn’t help but smile to herself as she cast more glyphs up the side of a building. They were fighting impossible odds against a ruthless foe.

                _‘It’s good to be home again.’_  


	2. Preparation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team RWBY prepares to defend Haven Academy from the White Fang

RWBY: Back to Back, Side by Side

Chapter 2: Preparation

Ruby

            As soon as the four girls reached the entrance chamber to the school, Ruby’s brain snapped immediately into what she called ‘Tactical Mode’ and did a brief survey of the room. The room was suspended right between the two mountain peaks that Haven Academy was situated on top of. It was a square room; the north, west and south walls all had doors on them, the north and south ones leading back into the city, the west doors leading into the academy. The east wall was an open balcony and showed a beautiful panoramic view of the city far below them.

            ‘ _That’ll make things a bit easier.’_ Ruby thought, _‘We only have two doors to defend! This should be easy! Now,’_ her eyes scanned the three other girls on her team, _‘who do I put at which doo- oh wow. That dress makes Weiss’ legs look fantas- NO. Come on Ruby!’_ she scolded herself for getting off track, _‘There’ll be plenty of time to stare at Weiss later, right now you have a job to do.’_

“What’s the plan Ruby?” Blake said, cutting through her inner monologue. The Faunus’ cat ears twitched and rotated, alert for any suspicious noises.

            “Right!” Ruby replied, gathering her thoughts, “Yang, Blake: check out the doors, see how much time we have to prepare; Weiss: check out the balcony, make sure there’s no way the White Fang can come up that way, I’m gonna call Jaune and check on where they’re at.”

            Her teammates nodded crisply, Yang heading for the south door, and Blake for the north. Ruby pulled out her scroll and dialed Jaune’s number. While the call rang, Ruby took a few moments to take in more details of the room, she stood on the center of an incredibly ornate red and gold circular pattern that took up the whole floor, and ornate red and gold pillars ran around the edge of the room and held up a clear, glass ceiling.

            *click* “Hey Ruby, what’s up?” Jaune asked, Ruby could hear the scared voices of a large crowd in the background.

            “We’ve made it up to the entrance of the academy,” she replied, “I think we should be able to hold the room for a while but I’d be much more comfortable with some backup.”

            “We’re trying our best, but it’s nuts down here. Everyone’s out in the streets and it’s slow going. It’s gonna take us at least fifteen minutes to get up to you guys.”

            “We can hold it for that long,” she said, wishing she had more confidence in that statement, “We’ll try to save some bad guys for you!”

            “You better! See you in a little bit.” he hung up.

            “Ruby?” Yang called, “There’s a crap-ton of them coming. Fast. We got maybe three minutes before they’re at the doors.”

            “Same at this door.” Blake reported.

            “Balcony should be good to go.” Weiss said, sheathing Myrtenaster and striding back towards Ruby, “I cut down a few tree branches they could have used to climb up.”

            Ruby nodded, “Ok ladies, get those doors sealed up and let’s bring it into the center for now.”

            Both Blake and Yang dropped the giant crossbars on their doors; Yang put a round from Ember Celia into each of the door hinges, melting them and making her door essentially immobile. The three made their way back to Ruby in the center of the room.

            Seeing the worried looks on the other three girl’s faces, Ruby went into ‘pep-talk mode’ “Alright, so we’ve got fifteen minutes before our reinforcements get here,” she said, “We’ve been in tougher situations, at least we’re not on a moving train this time!” this elicited some small smiles but the others still looked intimidated by their odds.

 _‘Well it looks like the old pep-talk skills are a little rusty…’_ she thought.

“Look guys,” She said, trying another tactic, “it’s been forever since I’ve seen you, but with just this little bit of time,” She looked each of her teammates in the eyes, ending with Weiss and holding her gaze, “It’s like we were never apart.” She felt her own cheeks getting hot.

            Weiss blushed furiously, holding Ruby’s gaze for a few moments until Yang sighed loudly.

            “Alright,” Yang said rolling her eyes with a joking smile, “Enough with this sappy shit! Are we ready to kick some ass!?” she said pumping her fist in the air

            “YEAH!” the rest of the team replied enthusiastically.

            “That’s what I like to hear! What’s the plan Rubes?”

            “Yang and Wei-”

            Just then, a massive explosion rocked the upper floors of the school above them, raining debris onto the glass ceiling. They all heard the distinctive voice of Adam Taurus, yelling something indistinct at Qrow.

            Ruby’s eyes quickly snapped to her team. She saw the looks up pure hate and rage on Blake and Yang’s faces. She made a split-second decision.

            “Change of plans,” she said quickly, “Yang, Blake: go and help Uncle Qrow protect Oscar.”

            The three other girls looked surprised. “Are you sure?” Yang asked, “I’ll stay if you need me.”

            “I’m sure! Weiss and I will be fine! Now go!”

            Yang and Blake looked at each other and ran for the doors to the academy.

            “Hey!” Yang yelled back at them, “After I get back from ripping Adam’s arm off and beating him to death with it, you two had better still be in one piece!”

            “We will be!” Ruby replied, “Kick his ass for us!”

            “Aye-aye fearless leader!” Yang said popping a mock salute before Blake dragged her by the coat collar into the academy, locking the door behind them.

            “Are you sure that was a good idea?” Weiss asked, a frown creasing her pretty face.

            “They wouldn’t have been able to properly focus on the fight here,” Ruby replied, beginning to stretch her arms out for the coming battle, “their minds would have been up there, fighting Adam, not on our fight; putting us, them, and Oscar at risk.”

            Weiss arched her eyebrows, clearly a little surprised, “That’s actually very good reasoning,” she said as she lay down trap glyphs at the north door.

            Ruby’s eyes followed Weiss as she moved to the south door to lay down more glyphs. Her movements were graceful and calculated, just like everything she did. Her legs were long and toned, her skin nearly flawless, her eyes the blue of a winter sky, _‘And her hair,”_ Ruby thought, _“her hair is so-’_

            “Ruby?” she realized that Weiss was staring at her, looking a little embarrassed by the attention Ruby was giving her.

            “Uh, hi?” was all the Ruby was able to come up with, caught staring red handed.

            “Um, I asked what you wanted to do. Maybe each of us just pick a door?”

            “Uh, yes, that’s a great idea.”

            They stepped toward their chosen doors, Ruby took the south, and Weiss the north.

            Ruby unfolded Crescent Rose, giving it a few twirls and swings to warm up her muscles, as she heard Weiss unsheathe Myrtenaster. She could hear the mobs approaching both the doors. She took a deep breath and shook out her arms and legs.

            “R-Ruby?” Came Weiss’ slightly shaky voice.

            “Yeah?” Ruby turned to look at her friend.

            “It’s really good to see you.” Weiss said, giving her a warm but nervous smile.

            A big, goofy grin spread across Ruby’s face, “It’s really good to see you too Weiss!”

            They both jumped as the White Fang soldiers began pounding against the doors. They reluctantly turned away from each other.

            Ruby aimed Crescent Rose’s barrel at the door.

  _‘I think Weiss and I need to have a long talk after this is done’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's Chapter 2! I find these more bite sized chapters are easier to manage since I don't have a lot of free time anymore. It'll let me update hopefully once a week or so depending on what's going on. 
> 
> Also sorry this chapter was a bit slow, I CAN promise you that the next chapter will be very action oriented, so stay tuned! 
> 
> Anyway, please read and review. I like alll comments, be they good or bad.


	3. Outnumbered, not Outmatched

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Weiss fight for their lives, trying to prevent the White Fang from entering Haven Academy.

RWBY: Back to Back, Side by Side

Chapter 3: Outnumbered, not Outmatched

 

Ruby

                A massive explosion echoed through the room as the north doors blasted inward. Ruby flicked her eyes away from the south door to watch as White Fang members began to pour through Weiss’ door, the first few stepping on Weiss’ trap glyphs. The black glyphs flared bright as they were triggered, the gravity dust slamming the unfortunate soldiers violently into the ground, breaking bones or knocking them unconscious.

                Ruby watched Weiss gracefully call six white glyphs into being in front of her, preparing to launch a volley of projectiles at the soldiers now coming through the door, moving a little more cautiously after seeing what happened to their comrades.

                The sound of shattering glass by the south door stopped Ruby from admiring Weiss’ handiwork, snapping her eyes back to the task at hand. Thanks to the door’s immobile hinges, courtesy of Yang, the soldiers had given up trying to break it down. Ruby could see them on the room’s glass roof, helping their fellow members up.

                Two of the men made to jump down to the floor through the brand new hole in the ceiling, but were caught in mid-air by the trap glyphs and slammed violently into the ornate floor with a sickening crunch. Ruby winced in sympathy, but quickly suppressed the emotion as White Fang began to pour in through the hole in the ceiling. She fired several rounds into the onrushing mob before having to switch tactics as they got too close for the rifle to be effective.

                The battle was joined in earnest, all thoughts pushed from Ruby’s mind as pure instinct, drilled into her by her family and her schooling, took over. Due to the low ceiling, she had to keep her feet on the ground, not able to jump around as much as she wanted.  She whirled Crescent Rose around her as she dodged, ducked, and slashed at the small army facing her; she rendered faunus unconscious where she could, dealing more grievous blows if that was not possible.  From the few glimpses she was able to get of Weiss, the white haired girl was holding her own against the onslaught. Ruby thought she spotted some ghostly white figures of what appeared to be grimm fighting alongside the older girl.

                _‘Huh.’_ She thought to herself, during a brief moment of respite, ‘ _That’s new. I’ll have to ask her about that later.’_

                Half of the White fang engaged the two girls while the other half made a break for the doors to the academy but several rounds from Crescent Rose and ice spikes from Weiss made it very clear to them that they were not getting through that door with the two defenders still standing, so they too joined the fight, backing Ruby towards the center of the room.

                She whirled around, spinning her scythe in a wide circle around her to give herself some space, but she kept getting pressed back into the center of the room. She kept giving ground until her back collided with someone else’s.

                “Oh!” both girls exclaimed simultaneously, and then also as one: “Oh no.”

                During combat classes at both Signal and Beacon, Ruby’s teachers had repeatedly emphasized “NEVER get into a situation where you’re completely surrounded and back to back with your ally.” They said the odds of coming out of it alive were almost zero.

                Her father, on the other hand, had been a tad more optimistic. “If you ever get into that kind of situation,” he told her and Yang, “you better make sure you know that other person almost as well as you know yourself.”

                The White Fang quickly surrounded the two, the soldiers brandishing their weapons, seemingly waiting for some kind of cue to move in.

“Ruby?” Weiss said, her voice tight with worry, “I don’t know if we can-”

                “We can do this!” Ruby cried, “To hell with the odds! We’re getting out of here alive, no matter what!” she reached behind her and felt for Weiss’ hand, grabbing onto it, “That’s a promise!” she squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her that everything would be fine. “Are you with me?”

                “Always.” Weiss said quietly, squeezing her hand and dropping into a lower stance, ready to take on the mass of people.

                Ruby let go of Weiss’ hand and brandished her scythe threateningly. With a cry the mob rushed them, _‘The moment of truth.’_ She thought.

                She almost felt a physical click in her brain as she pivoted to her left, swinging her scythe to meet the first faunus to reach them and felt Weiss do the same, engaging foes on the other side, the white haired girl’s back never leaving hers. A surge of elated adrenaline coursed through her body, making her feel giddy. _‘We can do this!’_ she thought excitedly. They started to spin and pivot around the circle, dispatching opponent after opponent. As one, they dodged gunfire, sidestepped stabs, and deflected bullets.

                Ruby could almost read the whole battlefield, just from feeling Weiss’ movements through her back. She estimated that there were maybe fifty faunus in the room when the battle started, and by now they’d managed to cut that number down by a third. She could feel almost everything Weiss did, her steady breathing, every slash and stab with her rapier, her change in stance as she summoned her white knight.  

 When she wasn’t engaging enemies, she swung Crescent Rose in front of her, forcing the White Fang to back up and give them a little breathing room, giving Weiss time to dispatch more of their enemies with her summoned monsters.

                _‘Holy crap!’_ Ruby thought as a ghostly Ursa sent several masked men and women flying through the air, _‘That’s freaking awesome!’_

As the fight continued, they felt less and less like two individual people, they felt like a single organism, locked in a deadly battle for its survival. It felt amazing. She felt powerful. Neither of the two had ever felt a connection like this before.

                As two groups from opposite sides of the circle rushed the two girls simultaneously, Ruby pivoted over to Weiss’s side and fired several lightning powered rounds into the crowd as Weiss pivoted to her side, sending her summoned boarbatusk bowling into the crowd. They snapped back to their original positions, and Ruby couldn’t help but let out an exhilarated bark of laughter at how amazing it felt.

                They continued to fight hard for several more minutes. Both the girls receiving several cuts, burns and bruises from glancing blows. Eventually, Ruby noticed Weiss starting to struggle. Her movements were slightly slower, he back heaved against Ruby’s as she struggled to catch her breath. Ruby also thought her aura must be getting low as well; the white haired girl had stopped using summoned creatures and was almost exclusively fighting with Myrtenaster.

                “We can do this Weiss!” She managed to gasp out between strikes, “Just…a…few…more…minutes.”

                Weiss didn’t bother responding.

                A woman from the crowd darted forward, thrusting her sword right at Ruby’s stomach. Ruby deftly stepped to her left, expecting Weiss to do the same. To Ruby’s horror, Weiss reacted just a second too late. The sword barely grazed Ruby’s side as it passed by.

                To Weiss’ credit, she didn’t cry out as the blade stabbed through her lower left side and only let out a soft gasp as it exited near her navel; even when the faunus woman violently twisted the blade, the only sound she made was a quiet whimper. A man took advantage of the former heiress’ distraction and swung his metal staff into her knee.

                Ruby heard a crunch, and Weiss’ back fell away; she dropped to the ground with a thud.

                “No!! WEISS!!” Ruby screamed, worry and rage consuming all other thoughts in her head.

                As the faunus woman removed the blade from Weiss’ side, Ruby viciously brought her scythe down, amputating the woman’s sword arm at the elbow and giving her a vicious kick, sending her flying into the crowd; behind her the man made to swing his staff again, this time at Weiss’ head. Ruby stabbed the handle of the scythe over her shoulder, the small blade at the end sinking into the man’s throat, he went down with a gurgle clutching at his esophagus.

                She protectively stood over Weiss, who still lay crumpled on the ground, moving feebly. Ruby completely unfolded the scythe, the blade now sticking straight out from the end of the handle. Using the now extended reach, she rapidly spun in a circle, Ruby cleared some space. With a little breathing room, she looked down at her badly wounded friend. Blood had already begun to soak through Weiss’ combat skirt, and Ruby could clearly see that her knee was shattered. “Weiss!” she cried, “Weiss! Can you stand?” she realized what a stupid question that was as soon as it left her mouth.

                The white haired girl, her eyes wide with shock, could only shake her head as she tried in vain to stop the flow of blood, and it began to pool under her.

                Panic enveloped Ruby’s mind as the White Fang began to close in once again. They had whittled their numbers down by half, but there were way too many for Ruby to take on by herself.

                _‘I’m so sorry Weiss…’_ she thought, _‘I might not be able to keep that promise…’_

                 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting with this chapter, a lot of the ideas and scenarios are going to be unwritten ideas from an old fanfic I had going (Air, Earth, Water, Fire and Steel). Honestly, I'm probably never going to finish that story, but I liked the ideas so I used them here.
> 
> Let me know what you thought of this chapter; Hopefully its not too confusing!
> 
> see you next chapter!


	4. Red

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Weiss horribly injured, will Ruby be able to fend off the onslaught of the White Fang all by herself?

RWBY: Back to Back, Side by Side

Ch 4: Red

 

Weiss

                Weiss pressed her hand over the gaping wound in her stomach, just to the left of her bellybutton; she tried to stem the flow of blood, but it just flowed out between her fingers. She tried to reposition herself to get more leverage but something wasn’t quite right, her right leg refused to cooperate.

                _‘Huh,’_ she thought, looking down at her shattered knee, _‘I don’t think it’s supposed to bend that way.’_ She realized she should be in a lot more pain than she was; she could feel the pain, but it was almost as if it was a separate part of herself; at least that was the best way she could describe it.

                _‘I must be in shock…’_ She could feel what little was left of her aura attempting to heal her wound, but it quickly ran dry, the ragged hole continuing to bleed freely. She blinked slowly a few times, trying to clear her head, her eyes widened as she remembered her best friend, _‘Ruby! Where is-?’_

                She looked up and saw that Ruby was standing over her protectively, swinging her scythe to keep their enemies at bay.               

                “Weiss!” Ruby’s voice was odd, as if it was coming from a long way away, “Weiss, can you stand?”

                _‘What a silly question,’_ Weiss thought groggily, slowly shaking her head, _‘Can’t she see my knee?’_

                Suddenly, there was a burst of red and a jerk of movement that sent pain screaming through her knee and side. She found herself being propped up against the locked door to the academy by Ruby, a blizzard of rose petals settling around her. The immense pain gave her something to focus on, making her thoughts a little clearer.  Behind Ruby she saw the soldiers searching for their prey, they spotted the two and began walking towards them.

                Ruby saw them as well but focused on her, worry etched on her face. “Hold on Weiss, hold on just a little longer! Our backup is almost here!” Weiss could see it was a white lie. Neither of them knew how much time had passed, or even if Jaune and company were still coming.

                Ruby turned and strode towards the oncoming mob, stopping between two ornate pillars, about twenty feet from where Weiss was slumped against the door. Ruby brought her scythe up into a fighting stance her red cape flapping in the breeze.

Just as the mob was about to charge, a voice rang from the back, “STOP!”

                The mob froze where it was. The crowd parted and two men stepped forward; they wore white robes and red hoods. One of them had a bushy tail and the other had large tan ears poking out of his hood.

                “I don’t believe we’ve been properly introduced.” The one with the tail said, addressing Ruby, “I am Corsac.”

“And I am Fennec.” Said the one with the ears, giving a very slight bow.

                “And you are Ruby Rose.” Said Corsac.

                The two Fox Faunus had a way of alternating who was speaking that made it very difficult for Weiss’ addled brain to keep track of who was talking

                “We represent our leader, Adam Taurus.”

                “We have no direct quarrel with you Miss Rose.”

                “The only ones we’re here for is your former headmaster and,” the one with ears gestured behind ruby, “Miss Schnee.”

                Weiss saw Ruby’s body tense, “Why Weiss? Why not me?”

                “Her family is accused of grievous crimes against the Faunus.”

                “She must answer for those crimes.”

                “Weiss is NOT her family!” Ruby cried, “Weiss is her own person! Some of her…some of OUR best friends are Faunus!”

                The one with the tail shrugged, “Even if that were true, it makes no difference.”

                “Her public execution is meant to send a message to her father.”

                “That their oppression of us will no longer be tolerated.”

                Weiss gave a small snort of amusement, _‘The only reason father would care about my execution,’_ she thought bitterly, _‘would be whether or not I died begging for my life, bringing shame to the Schnee name.’_

                “We’re prepared to make a deal with you Miss Rose.” Corsac said.

                “Step aside and let us take the girl,” Fennec said, gesturing at Weiss again, “and you get to walk away with your life.”

                “Or, we can do this the hard way.”

                “Your choice.”

                Weiss could see Ruby’s hands shaking with rage, her knuckles turning white from gripping Crescent Rose so hard; “I just got my best friend back,” she growled her voice rising in volume with each word, “I AM NOT going to lose her again! Not to you...you ANIMALS!!” she spat the last word as if it was a curse.

                “I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter.” Fennec said, unfazed.

                “We will be taking her one way or the other.”

“YOU WANT WEISS?!” Ruby screamed, slamming the tip of her scythe into the ground and pulling the bolt back, a fresh round sliding into the chamber, “YOU’LL HAVE TO PRY HER FROM MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!!”

                _‘That’s really sweet,’_ Weiss thought, managing a small smile, _‘incredibly stupid and clichéd, but still sweet.’_ It was exactly what she had come to expect from Ruby.

               The two fox Faunus sighed simultaneously.

               “Very well.” Fennec said.

                “Grant her request.” Corsac gestured at their men.

               The mass of soldiers surged forward.

               With an animalistic war cry Ruby launched herself into the first wave of White Fang, a trail of rose petals marking her passage.

               Before the soldiers could react to her sudden disappearance, she was among them, swinging her scythe into the unsuspecting faunus. Weiss could see that Ruby wasn’t holding back anymore. Every swing of her scythe, every pull of the trigger, removed something from her enemies, be it a limb or their life. The soldiers quickly regained their composure and brought their blades and firearms to bear on the red clad huntress.

               Seeing red out of the corner of her eye, Weiss briefly looked down at herself and noticed she was sitting in a small puddle of blood, it had soaked into her blue combat dress, staining it a dark, ugly purple

                _‘Oh.’_ She thought, her head beginning to go light again, _‘That’s a lot of blood. That’s too much blood…’_

               She groggily glanced back at where Ruby was still fighting. To Weiss, the red clad girl almost looked like she was dancing, moving gracefully through the crowd; her scythe whirled around her rhythmically, the muzzle barking at regular intervals. She blocked, parried and counterattacked with such precision that Weiss had to wonder whether that was really the uncoordinated klutz she had met so long ago.

                _‘It’s almost like she’s and entirely different person from the girl I last saw.’_

                _‘She looks…’_ she paused trying to think of the right word.

                 _‘Dangerous,’_ suggested part of her brain.

                 _‘Capable,’_ supplied another part.

                 _‘Beautiful.’_ Said a part of her that she usually buried deep.

                _‘Yes,’_ she agreed, _‘she IS beautiful.’_ Her eyes began to droop, _‘So tired…so cold….’_

 

Team JNR

               Jaune, Nora, and Ren stood outside the north doors catching their breath after a loing sprint up the stairs. After a few moments Ren tried the door.

               “Locked.” He said simply.

               Jaune tried the doors as well, throwing his shoulder into them to no avail.

               Nora looked quizzically at the edges of the door, “Hey!” she shouted, pointing dramatically, “Someone melted the hinges!”

               Ren looked impressed, “A sound strategy.”

               “Well it’s a good strategy for keeping people out,” Jaune said, scratching his head, “But how are we supposed to get in?”

               Ren looked at Jaune, a small smile spreading across his face, “We could just knock.”

               Jaune stared at him uncomprehendingly.

               Ren looked pointedly at Nora, who grinned devilishly.

Weiss

               Consciousness was slowly slipping away from Weiss when she was pulled back to reality by boom the South doors violently exploding inward.

               “KNOCK-KNOCK, BITCHES!!” a loud, energetic voice yelled as Nora flew in through the still falling debris, slamming her hammer into the nearest faunus. 

               Jaune and Ren followed in close behind her, bringing their weapons to bear on the remaining soldiers.

               Weiss saw Nora scan the room, she saw her make eye-contact with Ruby, grinning at her and popping a salute; then her eyes found Weiss and the girls elated expression dropped, replaced by a look of horror, “Oh my god.” the orange haired girl said quietly.

               Ruby was suddenly by her side, having appeared next to her in a burst of rose petals. Weiss’ eyes began to feel droopy again and she fought to keep them open.

               “Weiss!” Ruby said, gently shaking her, “Are you with me?”

               “Always…” Weiss managed to whisper, the word coming out slurred.   

               She studied Ruby’s face, she had gotten some nasty new cuts and bruises from her berserker brawl with the white fang. A deep gash on Ruby’s cheek dripped blood down her chin; Weiss put her hand on the wound; she wanted to touch her, to make sure she was ok. She wanted to tell Ruby how much she meant to her, how glad she was that they were friends; but she couldn’t find the strength to form the words. Her cheek was warm against her skin.

               Ruby covered Weiss’ hand with her own, squeezing gently.

               Weiss felt consciousness slipping through her fingers again. _‘I-I think I’m dying…’_ she thought, there was surprisingly little emotion attached to this thought, _‘but you know… if I am dying…’_ Ruby was saying something to her, but her ears didn’t seem to work properly anymore. _‘If I am dying and Ruby’s face is the last thing I see…’_ a small smile crossed her lips, _‘I’m ok with that…………I think I can die happy…’_

               And then her world was blackness.

Ruby

               “Weiss! Are you with me?” she asked, giving the girl a gentle shake, _‘Oh god, there’s so much blood…’_

               “Ahl-waysssss.” The white haired girl whispered, her voice barely audible. Her usually pale skin was almost gray now. Her blue eyes roved over Ruby’s face, memorizing it as if it was the last time she would ever see it.

               Ruby saw Weiss’ eyes focus on her cheek, on a gash that she herself had only noticed just now. The older girl put her hand on it and gave her a look of affection that made Ruby’s heart melt. She squeezed the hand on her cheek.

               Then, she saw the icy-blue eyes slide out of focus and her eyelids begin to droop, “No! Weiss stay awake! Stay with me! I have so much to tell you!”

               Her eyes briefly opened again and focused on her. A small smile flitted across Weiss’ face, then her eyes closed and her head nodded forward, her chin resting on her chest.

               “No! Weiss!” She gently shook her, “Weiss!” there was no response.

               The adrenaline high from the battle began to wear off and she began to cry. “No! I just found you again! Weiss, don’t go!”

               “Ruby!” cried Jaune from behind her, as he smashed his shield into a man’s face, breaking his nose, “Get her out of here! We’ll mop up these clowns!” there was only a dozen soldiers left, nothing team JNR couldn’t handle.

               Ruby didn’t need to be told twice. She hugged her best friend to her chest, Weiss’ head lolling on her shoulder.

               She kicked her semblance into overdrive, pouring her aura reserves into it. In less than five seconds, she was at the bottom of the stairs, and speeding towards the hospital on the lower levels of the city, a massive cloud of rose petals trailing in her wake.

               She zoomed through the market place, crashing through someone’s cart. She heard a scream of “My Cabbages!!” from behind her but paid it no mind.

               She could feel her aura trickling down to the last dregs and she was still blocks away from the hospital.

                _‘No, I can’t stop now.’_ She thought, her chest heaving with the exertion, _‘Weiss needs to get to the hospital….she’s dying. Or maybe she’s already……’_

               A scream tore from her throat and her eyes blazed with silver light, she pushed her semblance further than she ever had before; an explosion of rose petals blanketed the all the nearby structures.

               The doors to the hospital came in sight, she cut her semblance and used her momentum to make it the rest of the way, skidding to a stop outside the doors, drenched in sweat.

                She ran into the lobby and her legs immediately turned to jelly, she dropped to her knees, cradling Weiss in her arms.

               “Please!” she screamed, the doctors nurses and patients turning to look at her, “Please help her!”

               Ruby Rose looked down at the still, bloodstained form of her best friend and began to sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I do love my dramatic cliffhangers. Tons more angst in this chapter.  
> Also, yes I am Aware that my portrayal of the effects of blood loss is mostly inaccurate. It's mostly for dramatic effect. Weiss would probably have passed out long before she actually did if this is was real. but as I said, dramatic effect. 
> 
> So the next update may take a while. Up to this point, I had the story written down on physical paper and was just typing it from there. I'll need another week-ish to write more and then I have to type it. so expect the next update in around two weeks!
> 
> Thanks for reading and be sure to leave a review!


	5. Welcome Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weiss wakes up in the hospital and tries to make sense of her world

RWBY: Back to Back, Side by Side

Chapter 5: Welcome Back

 

Weiss

                For a long while, Weiss’ world was nothing but periodic sensations and sounds, the passage of time all but meaningless.    

               The sound of sobbing and liquid dripping onto her head.

                A pricking on her inner elbow and something being strapped to her face.

                A cold metal surface on her bare back.

                “I need as many bags of B negative as you can-”

                An odd sensation of pulling in her side and back.

                A long sustained beep.

                “We’re losing her!”

                Silence.

                “Ok…..ok……she’s stable for n-“

                An odd, grinding feeling in her knee.

                “-All we can do…..up to her now-”

                A tightening feeling around her knee.

                Crinkly paper against her skin.

                Lying on a soft surface.

                Silence.

                “Weiss? Weiss? Can you hear me?”

                “Dammit Ruby! I told you two to be in one piece! You had one jo-……..oh my god.”

                Silence.

                Soft crying.

                “Weiss……please wake up.”

                Dripping wetness on her leg.

                A hand tightly gripping hers.

                “I don’t know what I’m going to do without you.”

                Quiet sobbing.

                The feeling of being jostled slightly was Weiss’ first moment of true consciousness since before arriving at the hospital.

                Groggily, she opened her eyes. The room was mostly dark, a little moonlight shone through a window behind her. She was lying in a hospital bed which was raised, propping her up in an almost sitting position; the bed was soft and very comfortable.

                She saw a blurry, dark figure leaning over from the right side of her bed, doing something to a figure on the left side.

                With a little effort, she focused her eyes. She saw Qrow leaning over and draping a blanket over the second figure, which she realized was Ruby. She was sitting in a chair, leaning onto the bed with her head resting on Weiss’ thigh. She could see that Ruby’s eyes were puffy, and she could feel that the spot where Ruby was resting her head was damp.

                She attempted to form some words but all that came out was “Mmm?”

                Qrow’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “Holy shit, you’re aliv-” he quickly cleared his throat, “Awake, you’re awake.”

                She could smell the whiskey on his breath, much stronger than it usually was. She tried to respond but Qrow put a finger to his lips and gestured toward Ruby, “Shh, she just dozed off. Let’s let her sleep. You should go back to sleep too, you look like death. Uh, figuratively of course.” He moved towards a corner of the room, swaying and stumbling slightly, “I’ll stay for a bit and keep an eye on you two.” He leaned against the wall.

                She nodded, the urge to sleep slowly beginning to cloud her mind. She looked down at herself and saw that she was covered from the neck down by Ruby’s red cloak. It was warm and soft, the texture felt good against her skin; she could see why Ruby wore it. She looked over at the lightly snoring girl and saw a worried frown on her sleeping face. Ruby’s hand was very close to Weiss’; she reached out and took it, gently caressing Ruby’s hand with her thumb. She saw the younger girl’s expression soften a little bit.

                Allowing herself a small smile, Weiss gave into the urge and was quickly asleep again.

 

                The next time she regained consciousness, sunlight was streaming into the room from the window behind her bed. Qrow was still leaning against the wall, lightly dozing. She noted that he had bandages wrapped around his wrist and some around his forehead.

                She was still holding Ruby’s hand, the black and red haired girl hadn’t moved a muscle since they had fallen asleep.

                Looking around the room, she saw some equipment next to her bed. An IV was hooked up to her arm, feeding clear liquid directly into her veins. Some suction cups were attached to her chest and a pulse monitor was on her finger; the machine’s display showed her pulse, blood pressure, and aura levels as well as some other vitals. She noticed that her aura was hovering in the red range, it was quite low and not going back up.

                _‘That’s to be expected I suppose,’_ she thought, _‘it takes a lot of energy to heal these kind of injuries.’_

                Her tongue felt like sandpaper in her mouth, she’d never been this thirsty in her life. She looked around for some water but found none within reach. She gently cleared her throat, trying to get Qrow’s attention.

                His eyes opened at once and he walked over and stood on her right side. “Hey ice queen,” he said quietly, “How’re you feeling?”

                “W-w-water…..” she managed to rasp out.

                While Qrow moved away to get her a glass, she took inventory of her injuries. There was a dull ache in her knee and also in her side and back, no doubt the pain was being muted by the pain-killers they were feeding into her arm. She could feel heavy bandaging covering the stab wound in her stomach and back; she lifted Ruby’s cloak and the bedsheet and saw her knee was immobilized in a plaster cast.

                Qrow returned and she gulped the water gratefully, “Well,” she said once she had got her throat working again, though her voice was still very rough, “considering what happened to me, I feel surprisingly alright.”

                 He nodded, “That’s good. The Docs say that your aura is starting to come back, so you’re starting to heal up at a faster rate.”

                “Good to hear.” A thought occurred to her, _‘Ruby’s here but…’_ “What happened to Yang and Blake?”

                “They showed up and saved my ass, is what happened.” He said with a wry smirk on his face, “My niece is not a figurative person,” he said with a chuckle, “Yang literally ripped Adam’s arm off and beat him with it!”

                A small snort of laughter escaped Weiss’ throat at the absurd mental image.

                “Adam’s still alive, though not for lack of trying on Yang’s part; he’s being held under heavy guard in the other end of the hospital. Both her and Blake suffered minor injuries, but they were treated and released a couple days ago. They’re off with city security, trying to mop up any remaining White Fang.”

                “Wait,” Weiss said, a thought suddenly occurring to her, “A couple days? How long have I been here? How long since…” she let the sentence trail off as the memory of cold steel sliding through her gut flashed, unbidden, into her head. She shuddered.

                “How long since the battle? You’ve been in a coma for four days…”

                Her eyes widened and she stared at him disbelievingly, “Four days?” she looked over at Ruby, “That…explains a lot actually…” Ruby was still wearing her combat outfit, now horribly stained with blood, grime, and dirt.

                _‘ My blood, no doubt.’_ She thought.

               And, if Weiss was going to be honest, Ruby didn’t smell the best either. But she was very glad Ruby was there all the same. She saw a rather large bandage was covering Ruby’s right cheek; Racking her brain, she thought she remembered Ruby having a nasty cut on her cheek at the academy courtyard, but her memories of those last few minutes in were fuzzy at best.

                _‘The only thing I do remember clearly,’_ she thought, hearing the beep of her heart monitor speed up a little bit, _‘is realizing that I lov-’_

               “You know,” Qrow said, noticing where she was staring, “you were in surgery for almost twelve hours. She was so worried for you, she paced the waiting room the whole time wringing her hands.” He smiled fondly at his adopted niece, “And she hasn’t left your side since they put you in this room.”

               “She’s been in here for THREE days?”

               “Other than bathroom breaks, yes.” He frowned, “She hasn’t slept at all in the last few days. At least until a couple hours ago. But even then, I think it was only because she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore… She even refused all but the most basic medical treatment, she said she’d get checked once she knew you were ok…”

               Anger suddenly boiled inside Weiss, “RUBY!!” she shouted, whipping her head toward her friend.

               Ruby sat bolt upright with a surprised yelp and Qrow took a step back, clearly very shocked.

               “Why didn’t you get any medical attention!?”

               “Well, I-I-” the younger girl stammered.

               “You absolute DOLT!!”

                “Uh-“

                “How dare you jeopardize your health for my sake!”

                “But-”

                “You could have gotten an infection! You could have died! It was stupid and selfish and-”

                She noticed that Ruby’s lip was trembling and tears were beginning to flow down her cheeks. Weiss’ face softened, “Oh Ruby, I’m sorry for yelling, it’s just-”

                “Y-y-you’re alive…..you’re a-actually awake…” the younger girl said shakily, the beginnings of sobs starting to shake her body.

                Weiss’ heart nearly broke as she realized why Ruby was crying.

                Ruby wrung her hands and stared into her lap, tears dripping off her nose onto her combat skirt, “I- I thought you were going to die and...I thought I’d never get to tell you…” she looked up and Ruby’s bloodshot gray eyes met Weiss’.

                “Ruby…” Weiss whispered, more to herself than anyone else. The affection that she felt for her was too much for words. She just knew that she needed to hold her, to make Ruby feel better. Weiss held her arms open.

                Ruby climbed into the bed, mindful of Weiss’ heavily bandaged side and Weiss pulled the girl to her chest. Ruby clung desperately to her, as if Weiss would disappear if she dared to let go, sobbing into her shoulder.

                “You’re alive…you’re ok…” came Ruby’s muffled voice between the sobs that wracked her small frame.

                “Shhhh…” Weiss whispered stroking her hair, “I’m ok… I’m here.”

                Eventually Ruby’s sobs dwindled to sniffles, her face still resting on Weiss’ shoulder. After a little while, Ruby’s breathing became more even and regular. She looked at her affectionately, realizing that the younger girl had fallen asleep again. Tired out by her outburst, Weiss’ eyes began to droop.

She lifted the red cloak and covered the both of them with it.  She lay back, and with Ruby’s comforting weight and warmth, she was quickly asleep.

               

                Weiss woke once again, several hours later if the angle of the sun was any indication. Still feeling Ruby’s comfortable weight on her side, she looked over at her partner, a contented smile on her face. But what she saw surprised her; for just a moment, she saw Ruby staring at her with an odd, sad frown on her face.

                “Are you ok?” Weiss asked sleepily.

                The expression was gone almost instantly, “Um, yes.” Ruby replied, “I’m fine.”

                Weiss didn’t believe her for a second but before she could protest, two nurses swept into the room, one to run a few tests on Weiss, the other to get x-rays and blood work on Ruby. Ruby looked back at Weiss as she was led reluctantly out.

                “Go,” Weiss said with a reassuring smile, “I’ll be fine.”

                Ruby nodded, “Ok.”

                It was odd, Ruby almost looked sad as she left, not in the ‘I’m-gonna-miss-you-while-I’m-gone’ kind of sad, but more like she had lost something precious to her. The thoughts were driven from Weiss’ mind as the nurse began a series of tests.

                She tested Weiss’ reflexes on her good leg, checked her pupil dilation and drew a blood sample from her arm. Setting Ruby’s cloak to the side and pulling up Weiss’ hospital gown, she removed the bandaging. Weiss looked at the wound and was shocked that only a line of around forty stitches was all that remained.

                She shuddered as the memory of the faunus woman twisting the blade and shredding her insides resurfaced.

                “You should have seen yourself when you came in, dear.” The nurse said, seeing her shudder, “Nastiest stab wound I’ve ever seen. But,” she said looking over at the vitals monitor, “Your aura is coming back very strong now, with a little luck and some physical therapy, you should be out of here in a week and back to one hundred percent in a month!”

                Weiss nodded, _‘Only a month?’_ she thought, _‘That’s actually really good news!’_

                The nurse took away Ruby’s red cloak to be washed because, like most of Ruby’s clothes, it was soaked in blood. By the time the nurse finished changing Weiss’ bandages, an hour had passed and Ruby returned to the room. She was wearing a pair of hospital scrubs, the nurses had taken her combat outfit to wash it and see if any of it could be salvaged.

                She gave Weiss an obviously fake smile. Weiss patted the bed, indicating that Ruby should sit next to her so they could talk. Ruby frowned, her mouth forming a tight line, and sat in the chair instead.

                _‘Ok…What the hell is going on here?’_ Weiss thought, _‘We we’ve been flirting pretty hard for a while…and now she’s…”_

                “Ruby, is something wrong?” she asked.

                “No,” She replied, avoiding eye contact.

                “Ruby Rose, we’ve been partners long enough that I can tell when you’re lying to me. Really, what’s wrong?”

                “Really, it’s nothing.” She replied with a frown creasing her face.

                Weiss sighed, “Is it about……how we’ve been…..” she trailed off, gesturing vaguely hoping Ruby would catch her drift; and judging by the blush on Ruby’s cheeks, she did. “Ruby, we need to talk about it.”

                She shook her head, “I’m not ready.”

                “Ruby….”

                “I SAID, I’m not ready!” Ruby snapped at her, rising to her feet, her fists clenched.

                Weiss physically recoiled, her feelings hurt.

                “I-I-I’m sorry,” Ruby stammered, the words having come out more forcefully than she had meant them, “I’m going to go get us some food.”

                Weiss nodded, but Ruby had already turned and left, leaving Weiss alone with her thoughts.

                _‘I’m so confused…’_ she thought, _‘I thought we both had made it very clear, both before and during the battle, that….that we thought of each other as…..more than just friends…..What’s changed?’_

                She was unable to answer that question by the time that Ruby came back with food. They ate in silence. They made uncomfortable chit-chat and sat through more awkward silences for most of the rest of the day.

                When it came time for them to sleep, a cot was brought in and Ruby slept on that instead of curling up with Weiss, like the white haired girl had been hoping would happen.

                She looked sadly at the other girl as she pulled the cot’s blanket over herself. _‘I just want to know what’s happening with you.’_ Weiss thought, _‘I wish you would let me in.’_

                “Goodnight Ruby.” She said quietly, feeling like she was about to cry.

                There was silence for several moments.

                “G’night Weiss.” Ruby finally replied, sniffling, clearly trying to hold back her own tears.

                Weiss curled up on her good side and closed her eyes. Despite the fact that her best friend was in the room with her, she hadn’t felt this alone in a long time.

 

 

               

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long to write this chapter! As I said last chapter, I had to write it by hand first, then I had to type it. And typing it took longer than expected. I could have rushed it out, but when I write things I like the story to be up to my highest standards even if it means pushing my personal deadline back a week. I think I have one more chapters worth of material after this so stay tuned for the conclusion!
> 
> Also, I know that in some cultures, blood type is an indication of personality or something, but that's not the case here. I just picked Weiss' (B-) at random. And as for the hospital tech, I figure if Remnant has cool digital phone and TV screens they have, at minimum, X-ray and MRI machines.
> 
> Be sure to leave a comment telling me what you thought!


	6. Sunlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ruby and Weiss attempt to makes sense of the feelings they have for each other

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry it’s been so long since the last update guys! Life got in the way! I met a wonderful girl back in November and have been focusing most of my attention on her. She’s been away in another state for over a month now, and I have no excuse for not updating other than laziness. I’ll have a little more to say at the end about the story and upcoming stories and projects. So sorry for the delay, but without further ado, here’s the conclusion!

RWBY: Back to Back, Side by Side

Chapter 6: Sunlight

Ruby

                Ruby let out a sleepy groan as she slowly retuned to the waking world, the sun having decided to shine itself right in her eyes. Blinking in the annoyingly bright light, she looked around the room and saw Weiss, still asleep in the hospital bed next to her. She looked beautiful, as she always did; as Ruby gazed at her, a profound sadness gripped her heart.

                She got up from her cot, straightening her loaned scrubs, and looked at her sleeping friend. Weiss had a slight frown on her face, almost looking like she was wincing in pain.

Instinctively, Ruby reached out a hand to stroke Weiss’ cheek, to ty to make her feel better, but she stopped just short, her hand trembling.

                She brought her hand back to her chest, _‘I’m so sorry Weiss…’_ she thought, _‘But we can’t be together…’_

                “Mmmm?” Weiss groaned sleepily, gingerly stretching and opening her eyes. Ruby quickly plastered a smile on her face, trying to mask her internal misery; but judging by Weiss’ expression, she had failed miserably.

                The white haired girl looked at Ruby sadly, biting her lip in thought, “Look, Ruby, I-”

                She was interrupted by a nurse bursting in, quickly getting Weiss into a wheelchair for more tests. As she was wheeled out of the room, she looked back at Ruby sadly. Ruby managed a smile for her but she knew it wasn’t the least bit convincing.

                The door closed and she was alone. She sat down heavily on the hospital bed, putting her head in her hands, tears beginning to run down her face.

                “Oh Weiss,” she whispered quietly, her voice shaking, “I want to tell you so bad, but-”

                “Hello, Miss Rose.” A voice said from the corner of the room, making Ruby jump slightly.

                Oscar stepped out of the corner of the room where he had been leaning this whole time, unnoticed by both Weiss and Ruby. Judging by his speech pattern, Professor Ozpin was speaking at the moment.

                He came and stood in front of her, “I don’t exactly know what is going on between you and Miss Schnee, but-”

                “No offense Professor,” She said, “But I’m not really looking for life advice right now.”

He frowned, “Let me just say this,” he leaned on his cane, staring at the floor, “Something I’ve learned over my many, many years of existence is, funnily enough, that life is very short. And for people like…for people in our line of work… It can be even shorter.” He looked at her with sadness in his eyes, “You would know that better than anyone.”

                Images flashed through Ruby’s mind: Penny’s mechanical body being torn apart right in front of her, Pyrrha’s still glowing ashes blowing away in the wind, her own mother’s grave. She frowned, “What’s your point?”

                “My point,” he said gently, “is that over the years I’ve learned that when happiness comes knocking at the door, you let it in. Because it may not come back.”

                “I-”she started but quickly closed her mouth, she didn’t really know how to respond to that, “Thanks…” she said.

                Ozpin nodded and left the room, leaving Ruby alone with her thoughts. She had plenty of time to think, as Weiss was away for most of the day for a minor follow-up procedure related to her stab wound.

                But by the time Weiss returned in the mid-afternoon, Ruby still had no answers; the doctors said that Weiss was still healing but was expected to make a full recovery. She was also given permission to leave her hospital room in a wheelchair, as long as Ruby or someone else was accompanying her. Ruby’s test results also came back and she was given a clean bill of health.

                Ruby and Weiss ate dinner together and made small talk, both of them dancing around the Ursa Major in the room that weighed heavily on both of their minds.

                They both went to bed early, since their sleep schedules were completely messed up by this point. At some point during the night, Ruby thought she heard a muffled cry, but saw nothing out of the ordinary when she looked over at Weiss so she went back to sleep.

                “Ruby…” came a quiet voice, rousing the girl from her light slumber sometime later.

                “Mmmm?” she asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes. She looked over at Weiss and her breath was nearly taken away.

                Weiss was sitting up, looking out the window directly behind her bed. The moon was just setting and shone straight through the window. It made her white hair shine like a fresh blanket of snow, her nearly flawless skin looked radiant.

                Ruby sat there, her mouth open slightly in awe, _‘She’s so beautiful…’_ she thought. She suddenly remembered that Weiss had called her.

                “Uhm, what’s up Weiss?” she asked after taking a moment to compose herself.

                “I’d like to go watch the sunrise.” She replied, almost no emotion in her voice, “Will you take me to the east balcony?”

                Ruby checked her scroll, they still had about thirty minutes until sunrise, “Of course.”

                She helped Weiss hobble over to her wheelchair and handed her a crutch.

                She wheeled her through the quiet, dark halls of the hospital. They were both silent the whole trip; Ruby noted that Weiss hadn’t looked at her once since she had woken up.

                They arrived at the balcony and its majestic view of the mountains just as the sky was beginning to turn light. There were a few hospital employees from the night shift taking their meal break out in the open air, but they we able to find a spot away from most other people.    

                Ruby pushed the chair close to the railing; with a little effort, Weiss hauled herself out of the chair and leaned against the rail.

                Ruby leaned next to her, their elbows almost touching. There was a very pregnant silence, punctuated only by the chirps of waking birds and a cool morning breeze that gently ruffled their hair.

                “Hey, so-” they both said simultaneously turning towards each other. They both snickered.

                “You go.” Ruby said gently.

                Weiss’ brow creased, “Ok look, I don’t know what exactly is going on with you…” She paused, turning her head away, unable to meet Ruby’s gaze, “what’s going on with US…” she sighed heavily, adjusting her crutch to make standing a little easier, “But I’ve quite clearly misread the situation…obviously you only want to be friends and-”

                “No, no.” Ruby said, seeing the pain in Weiss’ eyes, “that’s not- I just- I-” she stammered, trying to articulate her thoughts, “That’s not quite it…”

                “Then WHAT?!?” Weiss yelled, whirling towards Ruby who recoiled from the outburst. She could see tears streaming down Weiss’ face.

                “What do you want from me?” the white-haired girl asked, “To say you’ve been sending mixed messages would be a massive understatement! You said before the battle ‘It’s like we were never apart’ and now the two of us can barely hold a conversation! Why are you doing this to-”

                “BECAUSE I’M SCARED!!” Ruby shouted, cutting Weiss’ tirade off, “I’m so scared…” she whispered more quietly, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling tears form in the corners of her eyes. “We have a very dangerous line of work… and if we were together and you died… I-I-I couldn’t take it…”

                Weiss’ had a sad frown on her face, “Ruby, That’s-”

                Ruby cut her off again, “You don’t know what it was like…When you were lying there in a coma and wouldn’t wake up… If-if you had died, I thought about… I considered…” she swallowed hard looking away from Weiss “I considered f-f-following you…”

                Weiss’ eyes widened in shock and she gasped softly.

                “I’m serious.” Ruby said quietly, feeling ashamed, “Just seeing you there, showing no signs of improvement… It hurt so much…it felt like my soul was hurting… I don’t want to imagine what it would have been like if we were together-together.” She shook her head sadly, “I can’t go through that again Weiss, It would destroy me…”

                Weiss stared at Ruby, processing what she had said. She began to gather her thoughts, “Um, when I was in the courtyard, in those last few moments of consciousness…I was certain I was dying…. the last thing I saw was your face… I passed out knowing I was dying in your arms.” She frowned, looking at the ground, “And I was ok with it… I was…happy….” Weiss looked at her, gauging her reaction.

                Ruby gaped at her completely at a loss for words

                “We’re huntresses.” Weiss stated, finally looking Ruby in the eyes, “Our job is to put ourselves in danger to help people who can’t help themselves. The shadow of Death will always be hanging over our heads.”

                Weiss paused, seemingly trying to work out how to phrase what she wanted to say. Ruby waited patiently.

                “But as you saw when we were fighting back to back against the White Fang, we make a hell of a team. We’re much stronger together than we are apart…” a look of fear passed over her face.

                “I’m very scared of losing you too. I don’t even want to imagine how you felt.” She shook her head “I’m rambling…” she said, “I’ll cut to the chase then. I don’t know what exactly this is between us, I don’t know what it may eventually become, and I don’t know where life may take us in the future.”

                Her icy-blue eyes seemed to bore into Ruby’s soul, “What I do know, is that I want to find out with you… So now it’s my turn to ask,” Without breaking eye contact, she extended a hand, her palm facing towards Ruby, “Are you with me?”

                Ruby blinked rapidly, staring at Weiss’s hand. Ozpin’s words on happiness echoed through her head.

                She gave the white-haired beauty a giant grin, entwining their fingers together, “Always.” she whispered.

                Ruby drew the injured girl towards her and wrapped her in a tight hug, which was gladly returned, Weiss’ crutch clattering to the ground. 

                They stood there for a few moments, just enjoying each other’s warmth and closeness. The sun peered out of a crack between two mountains, bathing the two girls in light.

                Weiss looked over at it, shielding her eyes and letting out a chuckle, “Ok, now that’s just cheesy…”

                Ruby giggled into Weiss’ shoulder, “Like something out of a bad romance novel…”

                “Blake would be proud.” The former heiress said.

                Ruby, rested her forehead against Weiss’ and sighed contentedly, the sun starting to warm the two of them up.

                “So,” Weiss began, “Are you still scared?”

                Ruby thought for a moment, “Yes…But… you make me happy,” she said smiling, “And life is too short to not chase happiness.”

                Weiss smiled, “Good point.”

                Weiss was so close Ruby could see every detail on her pale, near flawless skin, she could feel her warm breath, and see the dark pink tinge on her cheeks.

                Weiss gave her a sly smile, “Speaking of things that make me happy…” She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on Ruby’s lips. For a moment, Ruby was too stunned to respond, but quickly recovered and began kissing her back.

                They only kissed for a few moments; they had to break it off when Weiss’ good leg began to tremble with the effort of supporting her weight.

                Ruby helped her back to the wheelchair. They both blushed bright pink and grinned goofily at each other.

                Ruby snickered as Weiss settled in, “What this?” she said in a mock-offended tone, “Weiss Schnee: dignified heiress, showing physical affection in public? Scandalous!”

                Weiss laughed, “Temporary insanity, I assure you. My brush with death has left me feeling reckless! I’m sure I’ll be back to my usual uptight self in no time.”

                The two of them laughed and joked all the way back to their room. They spent the rest of the day swapping stories from their adventures apart.

Weiss

                Yang and Blake dropped by to check on them and saw that Weiss was finally awake. After much hugging and a little crying they all traipsed down to the cafeteria for some dinner.

                As they ate Weiss noticed Blake staring at the two of them intently. She saw the faunus give Yang a subtle nudge with her elbow and the two shared a knowing look, and Yang flashed Ruby a giant grin and a subtle thumbs up, causing the younger girl to blush furiously.

                That night, Ruby stepped out of the bathroom, toweling her hair off after taking a shower, Weiss noticed that Ruby had removed the bandage from her cheek revealing a horizontal scar that was fairly similar to her own.

                She walked up to Ruby, “Why do you have a scar?” she asked touching Ruby’s cheek but not the scar.

                “Oh,” Ruby replied, “Oh that. Well I expended every single bit of aura I had getting you here to the hospital, so my aura took several days to return to a level where it could heal me and by that time, this had already started healing on its own; so now I have a scar.” Ruby looked at her feet, clearly a little self-conscious.

                "Hey," Weiss said gently, "you should be proud of that scar…you got it saving the city , not to mention my life. and look!" she said grabbing Ruby's hand and bringing it up to her eye, "Now we match!"   

Ruby smiled and gently caressed Weiss’s scar with her thumb, “You’re the best, you know that?”

                Weiss smirked confidently, “You’re damn right I am.” She said, eliciting a chuckle from Ruby.

As they were preparing to go to sleep, Ruby moved towards the cot on the floor.

                “Nope.” Weiss said simply, shaking her head, “You’re sleeping here tonight.” She said patting her bed. It was not a request.

                Ruby beamed at her partner, now in two senses of the word, and crawled into bed beside her, curling up on Weiss’ right side, her arm draped across the white-haired girl’s ribs.

                “Goodnight Ruby…” Weiss said, wrapping her arm around Ruby’s shoulders and giving her a gentle kiss on the lips.

                “G’Night Weiss…” Ruby said sleepily, snuggling into Weiss’ shoulder, and sighing contentedly.

                Weiss smiled and closed her eyes, laying her head back against the pillow; Ruby’s gentle weight and warmth lulling her to sleep.

                She was happier than she had been in a very long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that’s the end of this story for now, as I don’t really see a way I can take this further and make it interesting. I may write some kind of epilogue in the future if the creativity strikes again.  
> Also Big shoutout to jonj1762 on FF. net for giving me a great idea for how to finish the story!  
> So coming up, I’ll be getting back to and finishing my Futurama fanfic Robocalypse Now because I promised some folks that I would finish it.  
> RWBY-wise, I have an idea for a fic based on some fanart that’s been bouncing around my head for a while. And there’s another one I want to write called Transcending Time, involving Pyrrah and Ozpin
> 
> Well see you guys next time, thanks for reading and please leave a review!

**Author's Note:**

> please leave a comment telling me what you thought!


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